The walls and towers were difficult to break down. Sometimes the attackers tunneled underneath them so that they would collapse. This was a high tower on wheels that was rolled up to the castle. It was fitted with a drawbridge that could be let down on top of the wall so that the attackers could climb across. Records of the use of trebuchets suggest that the largest could fire rocks of up to 1, kg although smaller stones must surely have been more typically used and could achieve a rate of fire of one stone every 15 seconds.
The maximum range varied but was probably between and feet. The trebuchet was the most advanced of the siege engines and was not replaced until the advent of gunpowder. A trebuchet constructed from 13 th century plans in stood some 18 meters high and weighed more than 22 tons, giving some idea of the enormous scale of these weapons.
Given this, it is likely they were either broken down for transport or fully assembled on site. The ballista was in use in Roman times. It was similar in design to a crossbow and was used to fire bolts of iron or stones. It had mainly fallen into disuse having been replaced by the more effective trebuchet and mangonel. The siege engine could be used to throw decaying or diseased bodies over the wall in the hope of infecting and weakening the castle garrison.
Mining, digging under a castle's walls, could be done for two reasons. The first, and most common, reason was to weaken the wall above the mine. The attackers would tunnel underneath the wall, shoring up the tunnel with timber props. Once the mine was complete, a fire would be set to burn out the props and collapse the tunnel, hopefully bringing the wall down.
A mine could also be sunk to build a route into the castle for the attackers to launch a surprise attack. If a mine was suspected, the defenders could dig a counter mine. Later on, round keeps began to be built because rectangular ones could be attacked at the corners, which were their weakest parts.
Before we look at the rooms inside, let's see how the different parts of a castle fit together. These are the walls at Falaise Castle above. The castle was built by the Duke of Normandy in the 11th Century. William the Conqueror was born here in Tower of London.
Like most castles, Falaise stands on a hill so any enemies would have to attack it uphill and the people in the castle would see them coming long before they arrived. The castle walls are very thick. Some castles had walls five or six metres thick. The round bits you can see sticking out are called bastions. Archers defending the castle could fire arrows from these at people attacking the walls.
Arrows could also be fired through narrow slits in the walls called 'murder holes'. The battlements of castles were often made like this. The attackers might use huge catapults or battering rams or a kind of giant crossbow called an arbalest. They climbed scaling ladders special ladders they could throw up and hook on to the walls , holding their shields over their heads while the defenders dropped rocks or poured boiling oil on them.
A mixture of boiling oatmeal, like a kind of deadly porridge which stuck to the attacking soldiers, was also used. Soldiers defending a castle. Most castles had a ditch or water-filled moat around the walls to make it harder for attackers to get across. Sometimes attackers would dig tunnels under the moat and the walls so that part of the walls would collapse into the water.
Siege tower. Attackers in the top of the tower would cross over to the walls of the castle using their own wooden bridge. Sometimes the attacking army simply surrounded the castle and waited for those inside to run out of food and surrender - but since all castles kept a supply of food ready, these sieges often lasted for as long as two years.
The outer wall of a castle was called the Bailey. Inside the Bailey were buildings where the lord of the castle's cattle, horses and servants lived. Attackers would dig a tunnel underground up to the castle walls, under the gatehouse if possible.
They would then set a charge and make an explosion which would make the walls crumble and collapse. The advantage of mining was that the attack could not be seen by those living in the castle. However, if those inside the castle were aware that attackers were mining underground, they would often mine from the castle to meet the attackers underground and there would be a sword battle.
Another good way of attacking a stone castle was by placing it under siege. Attackers would surround a castle with both men and catapults so that no one could enter or leave the castle. Sieges could last for months, usually until the inhabitants of the castle ran out of food and were starving.
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